Branding and dehorning chute



May 12, 1931.

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR ATTORNEY May 12, 1931. w. L. KUHNS 1,805,405

BRANDING AND manonmns cnu'ri:

Filed Dec. 26, 1928 ZSheets-Sheet 2 MY/z'am A. Kai/727s INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented May 12, 1931 WILLIAM L. KUHNS, or CLAYTON, New MEXICO BRANDING AND nanonnrnexcnurn Application filed December 26, 1928.; Serial No. 328,412.

This invention relates to a device for holding cattle while the same are being dehorned or branded, the general object of the invention being to provide an adjustable member for squeezing the body of the animal against one side of the'chute, this side ,being' formed of bars spaced apart so that the branding tool can be placed beween any pair of bars, with means whereby the bars can be easily rem moved it it is necessary to brand the animal at a point where one of the bars would'be in the way, with a gate at one end of the chute associated with means for holdingthe animals head and nose against parts of the gate so as to hold the head stationary while the animal is being dehorned. a

Another object of theinvention is toso form the head holding means that the'headis automatically pushed into position without difliculty by the lowering of a head bar, with the nose'engaging bar so arranged that it will engage the fleshy part of the nose and thus avoid danger of injuring the bones in j the head of the animal. 5 This invention also consists in certain other features of construction and in the com* bination and arrangement of the several parts, to behereinafterfully described, illustrated in: the accompanying drawingsand specifically pointed out in the appended.

claims.

In describing the invention in deta1l, reference will be had to the accompanying drawings wherein like charactersdcnote like or corresponding parts throughout theseveral views, and in which a Figure 1 is a front viewof the device.

Figure 2 is a view of the. branding side thereof.

Figure 3 ure 2.

through the device. 7 7

Figure 5 is a View of the nose bar.

In these views, the numeral 1 indicates the bottom of the device which is fastened to the is a section on line -33;of F ig- Figure 'is a longitudinal sectional View posed of upright pieces 5 and'the cross pieces 6 and the side 4 has its cross pieces formed with holes to receive the uprightbars .7 which areremovablyarranged in theholes.

The entrance endof the, chute is open, while agate 8 closes the lower part of the other end, this gate having sloping sides so that it will conform to the V-shape of the chute and this shape of gate prevents sagging and binding of the gate. The'gate is hinged to the side 3 and one of the hinge straps 9 is extended so that it will engage a spring latch 10 on the side .2, whereby the gate will be held in closed position. The upper end of the gate is of substantially V-shape, with a substantially V-shaped neck 1 receiving recess 11 formed to one side ofthe center thereof, a projection 12 being formed substantially at the top of the center of the gate and a bracket 13 is fastened to this part of the gate to re d ceive the pivot 01" the neck bar 14 which is of substantially L-shape','with its short arm pivoted to the bracket.- Thehinged edge of the gate is of greater length than the other edge h so that when the neck bar is in raised position,'the animal cannot place its. head between the neck bar and the hinged end of the gate and must, of necessity, pass its head through the recess l1.- Then byswinging the neckibar downwardly, the neck is held in the recess andthe peculiar shape 01 the bar will permit-this withoutdiificulty. 7

Acable 15 is connected with the free end ofthe bar 14 and passes over a pulley l6 land/has a small weight' -l'z' attached to its other end whereby the neck bar is normally held in raised position,and there is no danger of the bar dropping and injuring the animal. f A nose baryl8 has a downwardly bent end 19 which is i-pivotally arranged in a bracket 200n the outer face of the gate, this bracket being so located that the nosebar is arranged below the recess ll'and its looped part 20 will engage the'fleshy part'of the nose of the animal, thus-eliminating danger of injuringrthe bones of the head. As will be seen,the nose bar swings in a horizontal plane toward and away from the gate and is heldin nose engaging position by a chain 21 on the frame 4:. Of course, other suitable l ll means may be used for holding the bar in closed position. The neck bar 14 is held in neck engaging position or closed position by a rackbar 22 pivoted at its upper end to one of the uprights of the side i and having a plurality of notches therein, any one of which is adapted to engage the bar 14 to hold the same in adjusted position. By providing a number of notches, the bar 14; can be held in such a position that it will properly hold the necks of different sizes of animals. An arm 23 is connected with the rear end of the bar 22 and a spring 24; connects this arm with a part of the chute whereby the bar 22 is normally held in a position for engaging the neck bar. Thus it is simply necessary to push the neck bar downwardly, when it will ride over the rack bar, and when it has reached a position where it will properly engage the neck of an animal, the bar 22 will hold it in this position. When the neck bar is to be released, the bar 22 is swung inwardly after slightly depressing the neck bar so that the neck bar will be raised by the weight 17.

The rows of holes 25 are arranged in the bottom 1, one row being located at substantially the center of the bottom and the other adjacent the side 3 and a frame 26 has projections 27 at its lower end which are de signed to engage either one of the row of holes. This frame is adapted to be swung toward the side 4 after the animal enters the device so as to squeeze the body of the animal between itself and the side 4 and thus prevent movement of the animal. By providing a number of rows of holes, the frame can be adjusted to suit animals ofdifferent sizes.

A 0st 28 is fastened to an extension of the middle sill 2 and a lever 29 has its lower end pivoted to the lower part of this post and a pulley 30 is carried by a bracket 31 on the top of the post. A cable 32 connects the lever 29 with a chain 33, and the upper end of the presser frame 26, the cable passing over the pulley 30 and a cable 34 is connected with the opposite side of the frame 26 and passes over a pulley 35 fastened to the side 3 and has a weight 36 connected with its other end. Thus the weight 36 holds the presser frame in inoperative position against the side 3, but when the lever 29 is depressed, the cable 32 will pull the presser frame to ward the side 4 and thus press an animal between the presser frame and said side 4.

Of course, if desired, the lever 29 may be eliminated and the cable 32 pulled by hand or by a horse. 2

The device may be transported from place to place so that it is not necessary to drive the animals long distances to reach the device.

An animal is driven into the device and it will naturally place its head over the gate and under the removable bars37 which extend between the sides 3 and t above the gate.

The presser frame 26 is then swung over to press the body of the animal against the side 4 and then the neck bar 14: is swung downwardly so as to hold the animals neck in the recess 11. The nose bar is then swung into operative position to press the nose of the animal against a part of the gate. The animal is thus firmly held while the dehorning operation is being performed. Of course, if the animal is only to be branded, it is not necessary to use the neck and nose bars, as the presser frame itself will hold the animal still while it is being branded. By using the spaced bars 7 in the side 4, access to different parts of the animals body can be reached by the branding iron so that the-brand may be made at any desired point and if one of the bars should interfere, this bar can be moved upwardly out of the way. By making the parts adjustable, the device can be used with animals of various sizes and it can also be used for branding horses, mules and the like, as well as cattle.

I prefer to use a guide 38 for the neck bar during its movement, this guide permitting the neck bar to be swung upwardly out of the same when the gate is to be opened. After an animal has been branded or dehorned, the gate is openedso that it can pass from the device.

It is thought from the foregoing description that the advantages and novel features of the invention will be readily apparent.

It is to be understood that changes may be made in the construction and in the combination and arrangement of the several parts, provided that such changes fall within the scope of the appended claims.

lVhat I claim is 1. A branding and dehorning chute comprising a body of substantially V-shape with a flat bottom, a presser frame tiltably arranged in the body whereby the frame can be usedto press the body of an animal between itself and one side of the body, means for adjusting the frame in the body so that the chute can be used with different sizes of animals, one side of the body being composed in part of vertically arranged removable spaced bars whereby a branding iron can be passed through any desired space between a pair of bars.

2. A branding and dehorning chute comprising a substantially V-shaped body with a flat bottom, a hinged gate closing one end of the body, said gate having its edges sloping to conform to the diverging walls of the sides of the body, latch means for holding the gate in closed position, said gate having a substantially V-shaped recess inits upper edge, an L-shaped neck bar having its short arm pivoted to the top of the gate adjacent the recess, a pivotally susupended rack bar, and a spring coacting therewith for holding the the gate in closed position, said gate having a substantially V-shaped recess in its upper edge, an L-shaped neck bar having its short arm pivoted to the top of the, gate adjacent the recess, a pivotally suspended rack bar,

- and a spring coacting therewith for holding the neck bar in any one ofa number of different positions, means for normally holding? the neck bar in inactive position, and a nose bar pivoted to the gate and movablem a 1. horizontal plane and having a curved part for engaging the nose of an animal, said'bar being arranged below the recess.

4;. A branding and dehorning chutecomphising a substantially V-shaped body with a flat bottom, a hinged gate closing one end of the body, said gate having its edges sloping to conform to the diverging walls of the sides of the body, latch means for holding the gate in closed position, said gate having a substantially V-shaped recess in its upper edge, an L-shaped neck bar having its short arm pivoted to the top of the gate adjacent the recess, a pivotally suspended rack bar, and a spring coacting therewith for holding y; the neck bar in any one of a number of differont pos1tions, means for normally holding,

the neck bar in inactive position, a nose bar pivoted to the gate and movable in a horizontal plane and having a curved part for engaging the nose of an animal, said bar having its curved portion arranged below the recess, and a tiltable presser frame arranged in the body for pressing the body of an animal against one side of the body, said side of the body having a plurality of openings therein through which a branding iron can be passed.

5. A branding and dehorning chute com-- prising a base, a side member upwardly inclined from the base and fixed with respect thereto, a series of bars arranged in spaced relation to one another and removably seated in sockets in said member, means bracing the upper ends of said bars and having openings in which the ends are seated, whereby any one or more of the bars may be removed by upward displacement so as to provide for the use of a branding iron at a selected part of the animal body, a'second side member mounted upon the base for swinging adjustment to occupy different positions of inclination with respect to and in the opposite direction to the inclination of the first men tiened side member, whereby upon adjust enter between the side member to have their bodies compressed therebetween through said adjustment of the second mentioned side member, an upright upon the base, a pulley mounted upon the upright, a cable connected with the second mentioned side member and extending over said pulley, and a Weight 0011- nected to the lower end of the cable and constituting means for normally holding the side member in outwardly tilted and inactive po sition, a second upright mounted outwardly beyond the first mentioned side member, a pulley mounted therein,-a cable connected with the upper portion, of the second mentioned side member and trained over said pulley, and a hand lever pivotally mounted upon the base and to which the said cable is connected, uprights mounted at the forward ends of the side members and relatively inclined with respect to each other, a gate hingedly connected with that upright which is in advance ofthe second mentioned sidemember, coact-ing latch means upon the gate at the other side/thereof and upon the other last,

mentioned upright, the gate being provided in its upper edge with a concave recess to accommodate the underside of the neck of an animal standing between the first mentioned 'members, a bar swingingly mounted upon the said gate at one side of said recess,-and having a portion extending above the recess to engage the upper side of the neck of the animal, and a nose bar pivotally mounted upon the outer side of the gate and having an outwardly bowed portion to engage over the nose of the animals head, the said bar having its said curved portion located in a plane below the bottom of the recess in the gate whereby to engage the animals nose at the cartilage to avoid likelihood of any crushing of the bones of the nose below the eyes.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

WILLIAM L. KUHNS.

ment of the second mentioned'side member,

65 animals of different sizes'may be permitted to 

